'We Just Woke Up': Blue Jays Crazy Comebacks Begin Crucial Week
Momentum swung before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. even reached first base. It was firmly in Toronto’s favor by the time he rounded the bases, but not for long.
The three on-base Blue Jays waited for Gurriel at the plate as he rounded the bags to formalize his game-tying grand slam. It was a slam that thrust Toronto back into a seemingly lost game and reset a crucial series. It was one of those moments the Blue Jays wanted to be in this time of year, Manger Charlie Montoyo said, but it wasn't even the biggest of the game.
When the hoodies and long sleeves came out in September, the Jays wanted to be playing meaningful baseball. They wanted to have the opportunity for that big hit, an opportunity to come back in these big games, and the chance for the massive meaningful momentum swings. For the Jays, this early-September stretch could not mean more, and they delivered on every opportunity.
“Everybody knows what we’re playing for right now," Alek Manoah said. "It’s a big game heading into tomorrow.”
Toronto came into Friday 4.5 games back of a playoff spot and were three outs away from losing more ground. The matchup with the Athletics began a seven-game run against teams the Blue Jays are directly chasing — a rare opportunity to control their own destiny. A near miss, Friday’s double-comeback win was an opportunity seized.
No season is truly on the line during a three-game set in early September, but this weekend holds weight. The Blue Jays know the stakes, and every Rogers Centre fan standing in anticipation with two on in the ninth knew it, too.
As Marcus Semien's barrel met ball, the crowd confirmed the end. The game-winning homer fell over the outfield wall a few feet right of where Oakland's ninth-inning blast silenced Toronto a few moments prior.
"Biggest at-bat of the year for me," Semien said. "Obviously.”
At Baseball Reference, Toronto entered Friday with a 12.1% chance to make the playoffs (0.6% to win the World Series). During Friday's contest Toronto’s game odds looked like a heart monitor — flooring when Oakland pulled ahead 8-2, spiking at Gurriel’s slam, plummeting when the Athletics homered in the ninth, and rocketing up one final time when Semien went yard.
"After those first seven innings, we just woke up,” Semien said.
The Blue Jays came all the way back on Friday, twice. To come all the way back in the standings they'll need to show that same fight for an entire month.
"That’s just what our team is," Montoyo said. "And they’ve done it all year."
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon